Letter to the Editor: Do we have to tear down the courthouse?

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Granite Falls Advocate Tribune

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Posted Dec. 20, 2013 at 9:10 AM

Posted Dec. 20, 2013 at 9:10 AM

As everyone has been able to notice, in the last several years the city of Granite Falls has lost many of its old, original buildings, and with it much of its identity as a rural community has gone with it. Now, another of our old, landmark facilities is in the cross hairs of progress – the Yellow Medicine County Courthouse.

Now, we understand that as life’s necessities change and evolve into a more modern state and nationally connected society that updates have to be made, but is it always necessary to tear down the old to make way for the new? Do we always have to rush to what is probably the easy solution to the need for updated space instead of having the inspiration to see what is already there?

We also do not presume to know all of the details of the decision making process or what other factors are involved with the determination about whether or not the building is usable, but we do know that there are always options to review. We did encourage our commissioners to take a serious look at those options and eliminate them with certainty before moving forward.

We also would like to encourage everyone to express their concern by talking with, emailing or writing a letter to your commissioner. Let them know that the Yellow Medicine Courthouse is part of the county and of Granite Falls and in losing it we will forever lose a part of where we come from and who we are.